Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Many archaeologists and researchers have spoken about Aper-alâ€™s tomb that was discovered in the Saqqara area. Aper-al held the title of â€śPrime Minister of Egyptâ€ť and they [archaeologists and researchers] say that the name Aper-al indicates that he was one of the Egyptianized Hebrews.

One adventure that I will never forget is when I entered that tomb that was sculpted into a rock of the plateau upon which ancient Egyptians built their pyramids and tombs over 5000 years ago. I descended more than 30 meters underground and saw the antiquities found in the tomb including jewels, cosmetic equipment, beautiful funerary masks and coffins embellished with inscriptions.

The question I had in mind at that moment was: could a Hebrew assume the highest position in a state after the position of Pharaoh? And would he have been permitted to build his tomb on a sacred ancient Egyptian site like Saqqara, the name of which is derived from the ancient Egyptian god â€śSokar,â€ť the god of death in ancient Egypt?

Behind closed doors, some quietly claim that this tomb belongs to Prophet Joseph, son of Prophet Jacob, especially as we came across texts inside the tomb that referred to the significant role played by Aper-al side-by-side with the Pharaoh despite being of Hebrew origin.

According to some people, those texts carry indirect references to Prophet Josephâ€™s biography as mentioned in the holy books including his astonishing rise above social classes to reach the position of â€śAl-Aziz Misrâ€ť which is equivalent to the post of prime minister.

But what contradicts this theory is the fact that Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, lived before the Amarna era, that is, before 1353 BC, and that his remains had been moved from Egypt by his grandsons according to what was stated in the Book of Exodus (13, 19).

French archaeologist Alain Zivie believes that Aper-alâ€™s upbringing in a royal court is quite reminiscent of the life of Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. Since we are discussing the Amarna era, weâ€™re not that far from Akhenaten (for whom Aper-al worked) or from the very special monotheistic creed that he created. Accordingly, anything became possible including imaginary conceptions and far-fetched interpretations of the inscriptions found on the antiquities.

The monotheistic creed advocated by the Prophets of the Israelites, including Moses, peace be upon him, is completely different to Akhenatenâ€™s concept of monotheism. Though they both agreed that the universe had one God, Akhenaten failed to completely rid himself of inherited, idolatry aspects when he embodied the power of the one and only God in a sundial and portrayed its rays as the hands of god reaching out to humans with light and illumination.

The people of Prophet Moses did the same when they were overcome by idolatry tendencies. They embodied their god in the form of a sacred calf and incurred the anger of Moses and the wrath of God. So they were doomed to wander in the wilderness of Sinai’s plains, deserts and mountains for continuous 40 years.

As for the Vizier Ramose, he has one of the most beautiful tombs of the Nobles in the West Bank of Thebes or Luxor. It is tomb number 55 and some prefer to pronounce his name as â€śRaâ€™amusaâ€ť. He was a vizier during the period in which Akhenaten joined his father Amenhotep III in ruling Egypt from the 18th dynasty in the New Kingdom, around 3500 years ago.

Researcher Ibrahim Mohammed Kamel argues that the name Moses spread widely in Egypt in the early 18th dynasty and during the 19th dynasty and it means â€śboyâ€ť or â€śnewborn.â€ť Egyptians were sometimes given the name â€śMosesâ€ť on its own or as part of compounds containing the names of their gods for example, Raa’-Moses, Amoun-Moses or Eyah-Moses, which respectively mean the newborn of Raa’, the newborn of Betah and the newborn of the moon. So did Prophet Moses bear the name of an ancient Egyptian deity?

As for Aper-al, there is one possibility that I am strongly in favour of; he is most probably an Egyptian and not a Hebrew, even though his name is non-Egyptian. Until now, there are Egyptians who have names that might refer to nationalities and ethnicities that are non-Egyptian, even though they are Egyptian to the core.

The report in Al-Ahram boasts that the find backs up the Koranâ€™s claim that coins were used in Egypt during Josephâ€™s period. Joseph, son of the Patriarch Jacob, died around 1450 B.C.E., according to Jewish sources.

Excerpts from the Al-Ahram report, as translated by Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI):

“In an unprecedented find, a group of Egyptian researchers and archeologists has discovered a cache of coins from the time of the Pharaohs. Its importance lies in the fact that it provides decisive scientific evidence disproving the claim by some historians that the ancient Egyptians were unfamiliar with coins and conducted their trade through barter.

“The researchers discovered the coins when they sifted through thousands of small archeological artifacts stored in [the vaults of] the Museum of Egypt. [Initially] they took them for charms, but a thorough examination revealed that the coins bore the year in which they were minted and their value, or effigies of the pharaohs [who ruled] at the time of their minting. Some of the coins are from the time when Joseph lived in Egypt, and bear his name and portrait.

“There used to be a misconception that trade [in Ancient Egypt] was conducted through barter, and that Egyptian wheat, for example, was traded for other goods. But surprisingly, Koranic verses indicate clearly that coins were used in Egypt in the time of Joseph…

“Research team head Dr. Sa’id Muhammad Thabet said that during his archeological research on the Prophet Joseph, he had discovered in the vaults of the [Egyptian] Antiquities Authority and of the National Museum many charms from various eras before and after the period of Joseph, including one that bore his effigy as the minister of the treasury in the Egyptian pharaoh’s courtâ€¦

“Studies by Dr. Thabet’s team have revealed that what most archeologists took for a kind of charm, and others took for an ornament or adornment, is actually a coin. Several [facts led them to this conclusion]: first, [the fact that] many such coins have been found at various [archeological sites], and also [the fact that] they are round or oval in shape, and have two faces: one with an inscription, called the inscribed face, and one with an image, called the engraved face – just like the coins we use today.

“The archeological finding is also based on the fact that the inscribed face bore the name of Egypt, a date, and a value, while the engraved face bore the name and image of one of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs or gods, or else a symbol connected with these. Another telling fact is that the coins come in different sizes and are made of different materials, including ivory, precious stones, copper, silver, gold, etc.”

One coin had an inscription on it, and an image of a cow symbolizing Pharaoh’s dream about the seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and the seven green stalks of grain and seven dry stalks of grain.

“The researcher identified coins from many different periods, including coins that bore special markings identifying them as being from the era of Joseph. Among these, there was one coin that had an inscription on it, and an image of a cow symbolizing Pharaoh’s dream about the seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and the seven green stalks of grain and seven dry stalks of grain.

It was found that the inscriptions of this early period were usually simple, since writing was still in its early stages, and consequently there was difficulty in deciphering the writing on these coins. But the research team [managed to] translate [the writing on the coin] by comparing it to the earliest known hieroglyphic textsâ€¦

Joseph’s name appears twice on this coin, written in hieroglyphs: once the original name, Joseph, and once his Egyptian name, Saba Sabani, which was given to him by Pharaoh when he became treasurer. There is also an image of Joseph, who was part of the Egyptian administration at the time.”